Falsterbo Bird Show - Final Day

The day got off to a bleak, wet start, but the rain soon passed and the wind was much reduced which was a relief as we didn't have to keep retrieving our flyers every five minutes. After the rain passed the crowds started to return and we had a very pleasant day chatting and selling to a largely appreciative Swedish public, who, we have found, are an affable lot.

We drew the raffle at 15:00 hrs and the lucky winner of a copy of The Worlds' Rarest Birds, signed by Erik Hirschfeld and donated by him, was a young lady by the name of Ida Granvik from Gothenburg. Sadly she was not there to receive her prize. The second prize of a copy of Central and Eastern European Wildlife by Gerard Gorman, donated by Bradt Books, went to an ex-pat Englishman living in Sweden, Peter Hodgson, again, sadly, he was not present to receive his prize. Both winners will receive their prize via the post courtesy of Hirschfeld Media.

Presentation of the Arctic Tern female birder of the year award.

When preparing for any bird fair there is a certain amount of stress and doubt, anxiety reaches its peak shortly before the event. Once the event is underway it is usually very enjoyable and when it is all over you feel that you have left a small part of you behind when the car is packed and you leave the fair ground bidding everyone farewell until the next year. This fair was no different, we made so many freinds among the organisers, other exhibitors and the visiting public that we were a little overwhlemed by it all. Erik together with Lars and Ragnhild Jonsson on the neighbouring stand were always ready to help with translations and assist with Swedish names for birds.

Lars and Ragnhild Jonsson

We bought ten signed copies of Lars Jonsson's poster of waders which we hope to sell to raise a little money, the price will be £10 + p&p, so get your order in early.

If you were an exhibitor at the BBF and fancy branching out beyond the UK (if you don't already do so) you could do a lot worse than to attend the Falsterbo Bird Show, it's easy to get to by car, the people are friendly and helpful and the visiting public are keen to see what you have to offer.

There are a number of people whom we have to thank. Firstly Anna and Eva, the two lovely ladies that attended our talk at the BBF in 2013 and subsequently invited us to the Falsterbo Show, we are so glad we accepted and even more glad that they were at the BBF in the first place.

The two lovely ladies; Anna (left) and Eva, (Not sure who the dodgy bloke in the middle is?)

Of course we must also thank Erik Hirschfeld for his generosity and friendship. His help and amicable company made a good trip great.

Dodgy bloke again and Erik Hirschfeld.

Elis would especially like to thank Robert Lager who loaned her a pair of 10x42 Swift, Warbler binoculars upon learning that she had left hers behind in Denmark!

We also need to thank Nils-Arvid Andersson for organising the event plus all the willing helpers in the hi-viz crew jackets, and we must to thank Anders Lundquist for arranging for us to give a talk at the show. We sincerely hope that we will be seeing you all again next year along with the good folk involved in Swedish Birding.

The Falsterbo Bird Show car park!

We are now back in Denmark at the home of our dear friends Thomas and Ivone Therkildsen, we greatly enjoyed their company and that of their charming daughter Nadia, on the run up to the show and want to thank them too for their hospitality by providing us with somewhere to stay and wonderful food into the bargain. We hope this will also be possible again next year.

Crossing the bridge back to Denmark from Sweden.